Plus EV Blog

16% of the world’s population speak Chinese. Businesses all over the world often reach out to translation services. There is an increasing trend to communicate with potential Chinese-speaking customers. This can be through marketing brochures, presentations, websites, and even business cards. Successful Philippine businesses in the Chinese speaking market consider it a good investment. They also know that it has high returns. Take a look at resorts and casinos in the Philippines. They choose to have Chinese translations to bring in more clients.

Here are some tips for reaching out to your Chinese customers:

1) Target market. There are now two main written forms of Chinese: Traditional and Simplified. You should know which of these styles your target market is most familiar with. For example, audiences from Mainland China and Singapore are familiar with Simplified Chinese. Markets in Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macau prefer Traditional Chinese.

2) Chinese Mandarin. It is vital to understand the customs and styles of the target market. Currently, there are seven varieties of Chinese spoke in China alone. Over 70% speak Mandarin. Translating to Mandarin reaches a wider audience.

3) Vocabulary, Grammar and Syntax. Unlike western languages, there are no articles like “a” and “an” in Chinese. There are also no tenses and no voices, unlike in English! Direct translation from an English source often makes no sense. It won´t flow smoothly and messages will be lost in translation.

How to make sure that you get the best Chinese translation for Business?

Native speakers are your best choice! Only native speakers are sensitive to the nuances of the Chinese language. They will correctly project your message about your services and products. Native speakers will maintain the marketing appeal that you need.

Examples of Effective Chinese Translations

1) Coca-Cola – The company arrived in the Chinese market in the 1920s. At first, they used a phonetic translation of the brand directly read as “bite the wax tadpole” or “wax-flattened mare.” Of course, this didn’t work. They changed the translation into another phonetic equivalent that read as “tasty fun”.

2) Foreign Countries – Countries want to be viewed in their best light when translated to Chinese. Some of the more effective translations are United States that became “beautiful country”, and England that is “brave country.” A close third is Germany, which is “moral country”. Take a leaf from these foreign powers so that you don’t get stuck with “Abundant Sweat” like Afghanistan.

3) Computer – In this digital age, you cannot get past computers. In written Chinese, computer is “electric brain”. In fact, the first symbol of the Chinese translation of computer looks like rainclouds with a bolt of lightning to mean “electric”. It is one of the handful pictographic Chinese characters that makes it easier to remember.